Consecration can mean “Sanctification”
Following on from our consideration last month of the practical aspects of sanctification, we turn our attention to the related subject of consecration. Reference to a dictionary shows that the usual understanding of consecration is “to set something aside for sacred use”, and in many instances of the word in Scripture that meaning is true. But in the OT the words “consecrate” and “consecration” are used to translate other Hebrew words which have completely different meanings, two of which are of particular interest. Thus the same English words can have three distinct meanings at least, as comparison of various verses will show.
“And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense” (2 Chr 26.18). The word used here for “consecrated” is the same as that translated “sanctify” in Exodus 40.10; “And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy”. This particular Hebrew word is translated “sanctify” or “holy” in the overwhelming majority of its hundreds of mentions in the OT, and thus supports the link of consecration with sanctification.
Consecration can mean “Completion”
Consider now these Scriptures in which the words in italics are all the same word in Hebrew: “And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons” (Ex 29.9); “And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth” (Gen 1.22); “And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed” (Gen 50.3); “And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship” (Ex 31.5). These references unfold a different thought of consecration, one in which the idea of completion is brought before us.
Consecration can mean “Dedication”
Of the Nazarite it is said in Numbers 6.12, “And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering”. The same original word is used earlier in the chapter; “All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body” (Num 6.5-6). This word is used ten times in relation to the Nazarite in Numbers 6, but only twice is it translated “consecration”. (Note that the word “fulfilled” in v.5 is the word we looked at in the previous paragraph).
In seeking to understand the meaning of consecration, therefore, we need to think of each of its distinctive meanings in Scripture. Some of the practical considerations of sanctification were discussed last month, and they are true also of our first rendering of consecration, so now we will consider the implications of consecration in its two other meanings of “completion” and “dedication”.
The Consecration of the Priests in Leviticus 8
The book of Leviticus is all about access into the presence of God, and that access is based upon the principles taught in the offerings of chs. 1-7. But the offerings required a priesthood to minister at the altar, and the preparation of Aaron and his sons for that work is the subject of Leviticus 8. The consecration of the priests to divine service did not make them priests – they were that by birth and divine calling (Ex 28.1) – but it enabled and authorised them to function as priests in the sanctuary. The details of how the priests were washed and dressed are highly instructive, but are not the subject of this study. Suffice to say that by the end of Leviticus 8.21 the priests are identified, ceremonially clean, dressed appropriately for service and standing in the good of their association with the sin and the burnt offerings. Aaron and his sons stand with all the appearance and authority of priesthood, but until the ram of consecration is offered they still cannot function in the priest’s office. Thus the ram of consecration is going to “fill them” for their ministry.
“And (Moses) brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about” (Lev 8.22-24).
Identification with Aaron the High Priest
The blood of the ram of consecration did certain things for the priests to whom it was applied. The first was to identify them with Aaron the high priest, because what was done to him was also done to them. He has so far been distinctive in his position, his anointing and his dress, but now the priests over whom he is head are linked with him by blood. They were associated with him in the sin offering (v.14) and in the burnt offering (v.18), but now they are identified with him as a person as they are about to put their priesthood into practice. (It is important to note that whenever Aaron or any other priest is spoken of as distinct from all the other priests, as in Leviticus 8.12 for example, he is a type of Christ in His unique ministry. Where his sons are spoken of, apart from him, as in v.13, they are typical of the church in its priestly character. Where Aaron and his sons are spoken of together, as in v.18, the picture is of the church in relation to Christ their High Priest. Noting this distinction will be of help in the study of all the levitical types). We are those priests to whom the blood of the Antitype of the ram of consecration has been applied, and the same blood that cleansed us from our sins has made us fit for the presence of God by linking us not only with the sacrificial work of Christ but also with His glorious Person. Its application to the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the great toe of the right foot of Aaron speaks of how the life sacrificed to God was marked by obedience to His will, strength in His service and holiness in a walk that was all for His glory. The same blood, now applied to the priests, speaks of the tremendous responsibility we bear to display the character of our High Priest as we engage in divine service. The anointing oil that was later sprinkled on the priests (v.30) speaks of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the oil and the blood together give us, as priests, discernment as to divine will, strength for divine service and power for a walk in an alien environment which will all bring glory to our God.
Identification with the Altar
As well as identifying the priests with their High Priest, the blood of the ram of consecration also linked those priests forever with the altar of sacrifice (v.24). Their ministry would always be in the light of the necessity of the brazen altar, and it was intended that as they moved in service for God the fire and the smoke and the blood of the altar would so impress them that their fear of God and their awareness of the dignity attached to His service would be very real indeed. God grant us, as holy and royal priests, a true understanding of these things!
Consecration – the secret of separation
We have already seen that consecration can be viewed from at least three particular angles, the first being to set apart for sacred use. That thought, allied to the similar principle of sanctification, is one we are familiar with and it is illustrated in 2 Chronicles 26.18, “And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense”.
The second meaning of consecration is that of fulfilment, or completion to fulfil a work, and that is illustrated in Exodus 29.9, “And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons”. We looked at this aspect of consecration in some detail last month, so now we need to think of the third distinct use of the word which concerns dedication to God and the willing commitment of resources to Him. Before we do that, however, let’s share a practical thought from our consideration last month of the consecration of the priesthood.
The external coverings of the tabernacle were made of badgers’ skins and rams’ skins dyed red (Ex 26.14), the rams’ skins forming the inner cover of the two. The strong and impervious badger skin is spoken of only in connection with the tabernacle and the shoes which God gave, metaphorically, to Israel in Ezekiel 16.10. As the badgers’ skins formed the barrier between the outside world and the sacred things of the tabernacle, and, in Ezekiel 16.10, formed the barrier between the foot of the Israelite and the sands of the desert, so there is the need for that impervious barrier between the believer and the things of the world.
That much is true, but we must not forget that there were two coverings, not one, for the tabernacle. Underlying the badgers’ skins was a covering made of rams’ skins dyed red, and those rams’ skins take us back to the thought of the ram of consecration. The practical thought is this. When we seek to teach the principle of separation from the world and its ways, particularly to younger believers, we should remember that underlying the truth of separation is the truth of consecration. Rather than simply impress on believers the things which they ought not to be involved with, we should positively give them things to “fill the hand”. If separation, seen in the badgers’ skins, is about denial and refusal to be associated with the things of the world, then consecration, depicted by the rams’ skins, is about occupation with the things of the Lord and having the spiritual hands full of things concerning Himself.
Those of us who have reared children will know that if the child has hold of something which could be harmful to it, there are three possible courses of action. The first is to ignore the problem, and that would be irresponsible and unthinkable. The second is to snatch away the offending article, leaving the young one safer but confused and upset. The third course of action is to offer something wholesome to the child who, in reaching out for that which is good, releases that which is potentially injurious. There is much that our young folk may inadvertently have hold of which is potentially injurious to their spiritual health, but ministry on the “badgers’ skins” alone may lead to resentment and confusion. We need to remember the underlying truth of consecration, and seek to fill the hands, heads and hearts of these dear believers with things that are spiritually wholesome. The hand that is already full has no capacity left for other things, and the believer who is enjoying the things of the Lord will prove that consecration is the secret of separation. We must be careful that in teaching the necessary truth of separation we do not create a vacuum in which we have taken something away without replacing it with something better. If we are concerned about some of the places to which our youngsters go, are we making the positive effort to open our own homes to them so that they can come and enjoy spiritual things in a godly environment? If the leisure activities of the young ones are a concern, are we prepared to devote our own time to their spiritual wellbeing, always remembering that they are young and need to relax, have fun together and enjoy their youth? May the Lord help those of us who are older to so encourage and care for the younger believers that their separation from undesirable things is the outcome of an occupation with the wholesome things which we have taken care to provide.
Consecration – the secret of a distinctive walk
So far we have thought about consecration being the secret of separation from ungodly things, but the third particular use of the word brings out a more positive aspect of separation. In the law of the Nazarite taught in Numbers 6 the words separation and consecration are used interchangeably, but the emphasis is always upon separation unto rather than separation from. “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord” (Num 6.1-8). In these verses the paramount thought for the Nazarite was that he or she was separated “unto the Lord”. It was not that the Nazarite was set apart for holy service, as is the first meaning of consecration that we considered, nor yet that the Nazarite was rendered complete for holy service, as we discussed in the second meaning of the word. Rather it was that the Nazarite took the singular step of absolute devotion to God Himself, to be the object of His pleasure alone. This act of consecration brought with it a mandatory distinctiveness in appetite (Num 6.3-4), appearance (6.5) and associations (6.6-7). “All the days of his separation (consecration) he is holy (sanctified) unto the Lord” (6.8). So many of us are afraid today of being distinctive in our ways, of truly walking as a holy people in the midst of an ungodly and corrupt environment. Does this tell us something of the degree of commitment and devotion we are prepared to make to our God? We are ready to devote time and self to particular avenues of service for Him, perhaps, but what about our devotion to Him alone whose love, compassion, mercy and grace we have all received?
What a lovely example of this whole-hearted devotion is seen in Mary of Bethany whose love for the Lord and occupation with Him made her count so lightly the things that others thought important. She cared not for the misunderstanding of those around, nor did she hoard her material wealth. She was content to lay her all at the feet of the Saviour and, having anointed Him, to then use the God-given glory of her hair to wipe those feet. Is this not consecration in the ultimate? Does she not teach us the blessedness of each of the three main meanings of consecration? Separated unto His service, her heart filled with His glories, she laid herself and all that she had at His feet in absolute devotion. “And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?” (1 Chr 29.5).